Spinning Gold
by DG Phillips
Summary: A re-imagining of Rumpelstiltskin. When Adrianna's Father becomes penniless it forces them to move down from high class courtiers to struggling paupers. Their only hope is for Adrianna to impress the King. But is becoming Queen what she really wants? And what of the mysterious traveller who offers his help to those in need? Is he all that he seems? And what will he ask in return?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Hello all you lovely people! So, while _The Wonderlanders_ is currently on hiatus (sorry about that) I felt I needed to post up _something_ else in the meanwhile. Rumpelstiltskin is probably my favourite fairytale and I've always wanted to do a re-telling of it. Be warned though, this isn't an innocent tale of little men and greedy kings. This isn't a story of good vs evil. This is no fairytale...

_Chapter One_

It couldn't be happening, she couldn't believe it to be true. Surely she would wake up and find that it was all a dream. A nightmare.

She stood tucked into the corner of the window, watching as her Father loaded the last of their trunks and cases onto the carriage. Even that wouldn't be theirs for long. Her Father had found a buyer for it and he was driving them to their destination and then taking it back with him. The carriage, the house, most of their possessions: gone. Sold to pay for their new house in the city, or apartment, as Adrianna kept reminding herself to say. Not even a house. Just one floor.

She leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes. Behind those lids, she could imagine that the room was just as it had always been growing up. Books lined on ever shelf, all whispering to her, waiting for her to take them down and lose herself in their tales. The library had always been her favourite room. When she was a child, her Mother used to say she could be found nowhere else.

For the first time in her life, Adrianna felt glad that her Mother was dead. If she had lived to see this, to see her husband and child fall into ruin, what would it have done to her? Her Mother had been the finest lady of any circle, and everyone agreed, not just Adrianna. She was still talked about, even now:

"…What a beautiful dress it was! It reminded me of one Anastasia Miller once wore to a ball in Bath. She knew exactly what to wear, did Anastasia!"

"…That new Opera show is scandalous! No one will take my word for it though, if Anastasia Miller were here it would be closed down, I'd bet my hat!"

Adrianna often wished she looked more like her. Her Mother had had a beautiful porcelain face, with high cheek bones and rich black curls. Her Father had a portrait of her hung over their mantlepiece. Adrianna choked and blinked to avoid the sudden surge of tears that sprang to her eyes. The portrait _had_ hung there. For the past seventeen years it had hung there. But now it was wrapped up and strung onto the carriage outside. It was the only painting her Father hadn't sold, the one he'd refused to sell. Even though their had been numerous buyers who had asked for it.

"I didn't think I'd find you in here", came her Father's voice.

She coughed and blinked and made sure her eyes were clear of moisture before she turned to face him.

"What with all the books gone", he stuttered, looking sadly at the bare shelves around them. "I'd have thought you wouldn't be able to face it. You're braver then I thought".

"They're just books, Papa", she said simply.

Her Father smiled, amazed at the strength his daughter possessed. After everything that had happened this past month, all the changes she was having to cope with, she was still trying to put on a good show for him. She was so much like her Mother.

"Lindsey's downstairs, and the other servants are all waiting. Are you ready to say goodbye?" he asked.

Taking one last look, drinking in the memories the room held, Adrianna clutched the only book she had been able to keep and smiled at her Father.

"I'm ready".

The servants were standing in a line outside when the merchant and his daughter left the house. Edward walked along the line, shaking hands with each one in turn, offering thanks and last words of parting. Lindsey, who had been Adrianna's maid since she turned twelve and her closest confident, was in floods of tears. She had looked on Adrianna as a niece and had been with the girl right from her turn into womanhood, helping her through every tricky stage and struggle. Adrianna hugged her tightly and the woman sobbed into her handkerchief, sniffing so much she could barely get out the words to tell the young girl to write to her.

Adrianna walked the length of the line of servants after her Father, hugging each one in turn. The servants too had watched Adrianna grow up and Adrianna thought of them as an extension to her family, rather then hired help. Her friends had always criticised her for it, repeating again and again how servants were there to work, not to be friendly. Adrianna had pleasantly ignored them.

"I'm sorry we were not able to keep you on", her Father announced as they readied to board the carriage. "But I have met with your new housemaster and can assure you he is a good man".

Adrianna felt a pang in her heart. She was sure the new owner was a good man, but like all the other courtiers in this town he would no doubt treat the servants in the same brisk, unfeeling manner her friends did. Her heart ached for them.

"Are you ready Adrianna?"

Her Father was waiting by the carriage, holding the door open for her. Hoisting her skirts, she climbed inside and knelt on the seat, waving through the back window until the house was lost from sight.


	2. Chapter 2

The apartment was shabby. There were only three rooms and one of them was barely bigger then a cupboard. (That room turned out to be Adrianna's). They were on the third floor, sandwiched between a large striving family below them and an old German woman above them. They dropped the few meagre possessions they'd brought with them in the main room, which was both a kitchen, living space and parlour, and her Father turned on the spot, a look of disgust on his face.

"Pitiful", he spat. "What have I condemned us to?"

He kicked a trunk aside and collapsed into the only chair in the room: a battered looking armchair that looked as though it had survived many years of decay. Adrianna knelt beside him, undeterred by the grime on the floor, and took his hand gently between her own.

"Don't worry", she said. "This won't be a permanent residence. It's just somewhere to stay until we're back on our feet".

Edward smiled grimly. "And how do we get back on our feet, pray tell? We have no money, no one will lend us any-"

"We'll work for it", she cut in. "Somewhere is bound to take us in".

This statement seemed to upset her Father even more.

"Mother taught me how to sew and embroider and Lindsey showed me how to mend clothes just like she did with my gowns. Perhaps I could get a job at a tailors?" she bit her lip at the thought. Lindsey had worked as a seamstress once. She told Adrianna all about it. The many hours she used to spend doubled over some exquisite dress, trying to sew by the light of a single lantern. The image made Adrianna's stomach twist with fear.

Edward watched his daughter's eyes grow dark. The poor thing was trying so hard, and what could he do? Sit by and moan? "You're right", he said. "We'll get ourselves back into our fortune. I know it", he stroked her face tenderly. "My ships may be a lost cause, but we're not", lifting the girl into his arms he rocked her like he had when she was small. "We'll figure something out".

They spent the rest of the day unpacking, trying to make the cramped apartment look homely. Adrianna made up the beds, scrubbed down the kitchen surfaces and swept the floor. Edward hung his wife's portrait in the main room, hammering in large nails to fit it. He lit a fire and tidied away all their possessions into the right places. Finally, the two of them came into the main room and stood awkwardly, unsure what to do.

"I'm hungry", Edward said at length. "You?"

Adrianna nodded.

"Well, we have enough money to last us the week I should think. Let's eat out. We need something to liven our spirits a bit!"

Her Father had insisted on them keeping at least a quarter of their wardrobe, as according to him: 'we'll be dead and buried before we wear rags!'. So they changed into dinner suits and went out in search of food.

The city they had moved to was large. It housed the King and most of the big industrial companies. The streets, even now after the sun had gone down, were filled with the rich and poor alike. She saw a group of courtiers evidently heading for the theatre, the ladies waving their fans flirtatiously at their friends. There was a huddle of rowdy looking boys skulking to one side of an inn, their dirty faces peering curiously at Adrianna. A little girl, no older then ten, ducked through the crowds with a jar of some kind of soup clutched to her chest like a life preserver.

The poor eyed the gentry hungrily, whereas Adrianna noticed the courtiers taking no notice of the louts who hung about or the passing beggars, except to tuck their pocket watches more firmly into their waistcoats. She turned to her Father to see if he noticed this, but he was staring intently at the theatre goers, his attention caught on their rich dress, high chins and rambunctious laughter.

They found an inn that wasn't too crowded and settled themselves to their meals. Spirits seemed to be high all over the city and everyone inside was talking animatedly about some latest news. Edward stopped the innkeeper as he was delivering their food and asked him what it was.

"Haven't you heard? They posted it up yesterday", he disappeared over to the front door and returned a moment later with a piece of paper in his hands.

**_By Order Of His Royal Majesty King Harold_**

**_In honour of Prince Liesel's birthday, during his week of celebration,_**

**_every eligible maiden who wishes to try and impress their Royal Highnesses_**

**_will be given the opportunity to present themselves to a select group of court_**

**_advisers. Fifty successful young ladies will then be presented to the King_**

**_and Queen, who will personally choose the favourable wife of Prince Liesel_**

**_and future Queen of the Realm._**

**_All eligible ladies must present themselves at the palace at precisely 9 o'clock_**

**_on Monday the 22nd to have their name included in the record book._**

Edward read it through twice before pushing it across the table towards Adrianna.

"This is it", he whispered. "The answer to all our problems".

She snorted, laughing aloud at the ridiculousness of her Father's words. Every eligible maid gave him the idea that anyone could present themselves. But what a waste of time that would be! Hundreds of people attended the Prince's birthday celebrations every year. Adrianna had never been, but she'd heard stories of markets running all week and dances and parties going on every night, and lots of lords and ladies from the surrounding countries come to pay their respects. If there was now a chance that one of their daughters might get crowned Queen they'd be piling up outside from tomorrow.

She grinned at the notice and lifted her eyes to her Father. His own eyes were clouded and she swallowed, suddenly realising just how serious he might be.


End file.
